{"id":29033,"date":"2022-04-08T11:29:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T15:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29033"},"modified":"2022-04-08T11:29:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T15:29:42","slug":"payne-to-the-moon-in-the-gmc-hummer-ev-supertruck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/payne-to-the-moon-in-the-gmc-hummer-ev-supertruck","title":{"rendered":"Payne: To the moon in the GMC Hummer EV supertruck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phoenix<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Enter the Chandler Fashion Mall southeast of Phoenix and a big, vertical advertisement stops you in your tracks with three white letters highlighted against a black background: WTF.<\/p>\n

Step close and faint gray letters explain the acronym: WATTS TO FREEDOM.<\/p>\n

The GMC Hummer EV supertruck has landed. Imagine 205-kilowatt-hour battery, 1,000 horsepower, 9,000 pounds, 35-inch all-terrain tires. Three electric motors. All-wheel steering. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. WTF, indeed.<\/p>\n

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Strapped into my Hummer tester outside Phoenix, I tug the TRACTION CONTROL button on the dash twice and supertruck enters WATTS TO FREEDOM mode. My seat rumbles, the chassis crouches, the digital screen flashes ARMED. Launch control ready.<\/p>\n

Flatten the brake pedal.<\/em><\/p>\n

Flatten the accelerator pedal.<\/em><\/p>\n

Release the brake.<\/em><\/p>\n

The truck explodes forward like a rocket, crushing my body into the seatback. The horizon blurs. Three electric motors shriek. Four Goodyear Wrangler tires squawk in pain as they transfer instant, 1,200 pound-feet of torque into the pavement. I blow past 60 mph in just over 3 seconds on my way to the moon.<\/p>\n

GM calls Hummer its moonshot \u2014\u00a0a warp-speed, 18-month development program to explore the electric performance frontier. Here on Earth, Arizona is a perfect market for Hummer, because like Superman, the electric supertruck needs lots of space to show off its other-worldly capabilities. Straight highways, off-road trails, beautiful vistas. Michigan fits the bill, too.<\/p>\n

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As I tell my friends with Corvette C8\/Porsche 911\/Ferrari 456 supercars, you can\u2019t understand their incredible capabilities until you take them on track. The same is true of the growing class of supertrucks: Hummer, Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Raptor, Ford Bronco Raptor, Ram TRX.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t truly appreciate the Hummer EV until you take it off-pavement.<\/p>\n

An hour north of Phoenix is Boulders ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) Park, similar to Holly Oaks ORV Park an hour up I-75 from Detroit. If you\u2019re one of the 65,000 reservation holders for a Hummer, go straight to an ORV park after you pick it up from the dealer. And bring three friends. The Hummer experience begs to be shared.<\/p>\n

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As a rule of thumb, off-road trails are not friendly places for full-size pickups. Their tight confines, narrow trails, steep hills and sharp crowns make big trucks uncomfortable with their poor breakover angles and solid rear axles. Other supertrucks like the Ram TRX and F-150 Ratpor are built for high speed, wide-open spaces where their throaty engines and sensational sport shocks can really stretch their legs.<\/p>\n

Consistent with its limited\u00a0329-mile range (I burned 178 miles of battery range on a 112-mile trip), Hummer is a hoot on nearby off-road parks.<\/p>\n

Sure, its 80-plus inch width requires three amber lights by law (as do Raptors and\u00a0TRX), but that width brings balance that complements its inherent\u00a0EV athleticism. That 205 kWh of battery is a lot (is Hummer the only full-size pickup that weighs more than it tows?), but it\u2019s\u00a0below decks for a low center of gravity. Its electric drivetrain means no vulnerable gas tanks, mufflers\u00a0or pigs (rear differential) protruding from its belly.<\/p>\n

SMACK!<\/em>\u00a0I misjudge a ridge and bottom out. No worries, the armored beast shrugged it off. Starting with 10 inches of ground clearance, Hummer sports 9.5 inches of suspension travel in top trims, thanks to air suspension. Like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, the GMC\u2019s EXTRACT MODE can ratchet\u00a0itself 16 inches off the ground to clear obstacles. Or crouch to 6.5 inches for WTF sprints. Like a supercar, there are multiple performance modes to explore \u2014 and 18 camera angles for what you can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

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But my favorite tool is all-wheel steer \u2014 a feature previously found on supercars like the Porsche 911 for quicker track turn-in. Available beginning with the $89,995 2x trim, 4WS enables Hummer\u2019s CRAB WALK mode. It\u2019s a cool party trick, but 4WS\u2019s more practical application is in navigating, say, tight turns through Boulders. I can\u2019t wait to use it in the twisted canyons of Holly Oaks.<\/p>\n

On-road, 4WS enables 37-degree, Chevy Spark-like turning circle for easy mobility around parking lots \u2014 another nemesis of full-sized trucks.<\/p>\n

Such toys make Hummer nearly as much fun getting to an ORV park as playing there.<\/p>\n

Where supercars must be mindful of weight lest they be slow on track, supertrucks suffer no such modesty. The GMC is loaded with gadgets that would make a supercar blush.<\/p>\n

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I self-drove to Boulders using Super Cruise.\u00a0Look ma, no hands!<\/em>\u00a0GMC has hung huge screens across the dash like paintings in a boardroom. They are gorgeous and Hummer contracted with the Unreal game engine for state-of-the-art graphics and Google for navigation as easy as your smartphone.<\/p>\n

Interior room is palatial, and you can go topless \u2014 just like a Wrangler or Bronco \u2014 by unlatching roof panels and stowing them in the frunk. Oh, your three friends are gonna\u2019 love it. There are moonshot homages everywhere from Sea of Tranquility maps on the floormats to astronaut footprints on the dash.<\/p>\n

The pickup bed out back is five feet long and punctuated by GMC\u2019s signature\u00a0six-way Multi-Pro tailgate so you can easily extract motor bikes \u2014 or just hang out with a cooler and drinks.<\/p>\n

There are hiccups, to be sure.<\/p>\n

The upright windshield means no head-up display option and lots of A-pillar wind noise when you hit 70 mph\u00a0on the interstate. Long-distance trips might be daunting due to GM\u2019s oversight in not incorporating Tesla-like\u00a0navigation between third-party superchargers. I asked my Hummer to navigate to Seattle and it just plotted the route without detailed charging stops \u2014 something that has eliminated range anxiety for Teslarati.<\/p>\n

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Yeah, yeah, the Hummer EV smacks of GM groveling to atone for its sins. Hummer was pilloried at the turn of the century for its cigar-chewing, Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrity and Gulf War gas-swilling. \u201cWhat would Jesus drive?\u201d shouted the prudes. It\u2019s no less decadent now with D.C. pols imploring us commoners to be more like Hollywood swells and buy an EV to avoid $5 a gallon gas.\u00a0Let them eat Hummers!<\/em><\/p>\n

But like Tesla\u2019s Made-in-America Model S, Hummer EV is much more than another meme in the culture wars. It\u2019s a serious leap in showing off EV performance. Take it to an off-road park and enjoy it for what is: an ambitious achievement accomplished in an impossibly short time to explore the tech frontier.<\/p>\n

An achievement only an American truck brand could pull off. Moon shot landed.<\/p>\n

2022 GMC Hummer EV<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, four-door pickup<\/p>\n

Price: $79,995, including $1,595 destination charge ($112,595 First Edition as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 205-kWh lithium-ion battery driving two or three electric motors<\/p>\n

Power: 1,000 horsepower, 1,200 pound-feet of torque (First Edition)<\/p>\n

Transmission: Single-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds (mfr.); towing capacity, 7, 500 pounds<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a09,000 pounds<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 329 miles<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs: All-wheel steer; unique design inside\/out<\/p>\n

Lows: A-pillar wind noise; no head-up display<\/p>\n

Overall: 4 stars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phoenix\u00a0\u2014 Enter the Chandler Fashion Mall southeast of Phoenix and a big, vertical advertisement stops you in your tracks with three white letters highlighted against a black background: WTF. Step close and faint gray letters explain the acronym: WATTS TO FREEDOM. The GMC Hummer EV supertruck has landed. Imagine 205-kilowatt-hour battery, 1,000 horsepower, 9,000 pounds, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29034,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29033\/revisions\/29034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}